Distorted Moon
by SteelBlackwing
Summary: After being pardoned for his crimes in the Fourth Shinobi War, Uchiha Sasuke wanders the world in search of atonement. But when an old foe is resurrected, Sasuke is thrown into a very different world, now a stranger and an anomaly. Sasuke must now traverse this world of women in search of the one who brought them there, for it may be his only hope of returning to his own.
1. Prologue

**Prologue: Into the Black**

Sasuke hunted.

The full moon shone brightly upon the snow-covered ground of the recesses of Kaminari no Kuni. Sasuke stalked along the shadows of the peaks jutting into the sky, searching for any signs of activity. He had gotten wind from his burgeoning spy network about a cult operating near the northwestern end of Kaminari no Kuni, who were infatuated with Kaguya. They allegedly were not highly active, but tonight they planned to perform some kind of ritual to unseal Kaguya from the moon. Unsealing _his_ greatest work.

Ridiculous.

However, there was a chance (no matter how small) that she could be resurrected, since she had a proper body when he sealed her, so Sasuke wasn't taking any chances. Thus, he scoured the frozen, barren mountains of the north in order to find these fools and put a stop to their actions.

Sasuke eventually noticed a glint of light coming from a hole within the side of a sheer face, and quickly warped close to see if he could see anything more without being noticed by any guards they might have.

_None in sight._

Swiftly but silently entering the cavern, he stuck to the shadows.

He saw no guards within the tunnel either, which was unsurprising for non-ninjas who had secluded themselves this far into the sprawling mountains of the north. Many shinobi would likely assume the same.

Many shinobi would wind up dead.

Sasuke hunted alone, as always. It was difficult for him to interact with others, even without the memories of his war crimes plaguing people's minds every time they saw him. It was part of the reason he had asked the new Hokage, his former sensei, to send him on continuing long-standing missions to assist in Konoha's spy network and help keep the peace across the nations from the shadows. War was all he knew. He didn't know peace; he couldn't deal with peace.

He didn't deserve peace.

Sasuke knew that his brother's attempt at sparing his life damaged his mind beyond repair. He had finally accepted it after his final battle with his best friend. He could never lead a normal life like his comrades could. Even Kakashi-sensei had found happiness at the end of it all, despite his constant complaining about his job.

And Sasuke never got what he deserved.

Sasuke was a war criminal that planned to assassinate the five Kage twice. He worked with Akatsuki, turning on and abandoning everyone he had ever loved, or even worked with. He was beyond unstable during the war, obsessed with some blind vengeance that he didn't fully understand. At the end of it all, Sasuke planned to commit even worse crimes just to keep the villages united against him.

From what Naruto told him, that plan wasn't too dissimilar to Pein's.

He should have been tried. He should have been executed, or at least bound and exiled. His own actions should have cemented his fate. Yet Kakashi pardoned him of his crimes. It didn't earn him any points with either his own village or the other major villages. If it wasn't for Naruto pleading his case, then Kakashi likely would have been overruled by the other Kage. He felt almost cheated, though grateful.

His building guilt since that incident led him to reciprocate his final teammate's affection for him, intent on restarting his clan without the curse of hatred hanging over them, content that she was both strong and kind enough to restart the Uchiha, but the guilt of his past actions drove a wedge of awkwardness between them. She still loved him, but she also remembered what he did. Sasuke never knew if Sakura truly forgave him for that he did, and he never was able to summon the courage to truly talk to her about it for fear of one or both breaking down entirely.

It was killing her, and he couldn't stand to see it.

So, he ran. Between the guilt of his lack of punishment and self-loathing in being unable to confide in his wife, he pleaded with his old sensei to assist the spy network and protect the various nations as self-punishment.

It was less than what he deserved.

_Focus on the present._

After following the winding tunnel for likely just under an hour, he finally found the source of the light: approximately twenty hooded cloaks surrounded a naked woman lying on some kind of complex seal, both of her arms raised to the heavens. The head cultist was holding a tome and chanting in a language of some kind, and his chanting ebbed and flowed with the timing of the clear, milky liquid that dripped from one of the stalactites onto the woman's abdomen.

Time to get to work.

Sasuke launched himself at the stalactite, cutting straight through it and dropping it onto the woman, before twisting in the air and pushing off the ceiling to land on the ground, casting an earth jutsu to drive stone spikes up through the ground to spear through all the cultists. Their deaths were quick, but not instantaneous.

The original chanter, however, had survived a large spike through the chest, and was able to push himself off it, though not without a struggle.

"A Jashinist? I thought Hidan was the last of you," Sasuke spoke. The cultist hefted his tome in response.

"Not so. I care not for immortality, and senseless slaughter has never brought joy to me," he struggled to speak, coughing up blood.

"As you sacrifice one of your own colleagues to bring back a living apocalypse? How sensible."

The cultist pulled back his hood, revealing a gaunt man with short, messy brown hair and sunken eyes.

"Humanity will be annihilated either way. This is the best hope for its remnants to survive and rebuild." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him, searching for lies.

"Bullshit. Even I couldn't stop Kaguya alone. What annihilation would we face without her?"

The cultist tossed his book at Sasuke before responding.

"Usagi-hime was not the only god. Since the Shinju was brought forth, others will come. We cannot know their power, nor their motives. We need her to guard us. If we surrender our chakra to her, she will protect us from the other gods." This man could not be swayed. Sasuke could see the determination in his eyes. The time for words was over.

He swung a feint at the man before kicking him down with a roundhouse. He went down easily, clearly unversed in combat. He choked out a few syllables of a chant before Sasuke decapitated him with his sword.

Sasuke walked over to the sacrifice's corpse, blade still unsheathed, just in case. There was no blood, despite the woman being impaled by a large stone spike. Once he noticed that the milky liquid dripping onto her corpse had shifted to a pitch black, he decapitated her corpse and flung the head further down the cave. His actions turned out to be useless, though, as the tar-like droplets coalesced and expanded, warping the woman's headless, impaled corpse into a formless mass of darkness. S tendril shot out for the head Sasuke tossed down the cave, and his blade rose to meet it. Once he severed the tendril, it reconnected almost immediately, before pulling back into the core mass.

Sasuke wasted no words. Amaterasu immediately consumed the abomination, burning to nothingness.

"Kaa-san apologizes for being unable to make it," a voice behind him spoke. Sasuke swung his arm back, his Chidori spear striking the shadow dead center. It vanished again. "This girl had quite the powerful Yin release. No wonder she was chosen to be Kaa-san's vess-aughk!" Sasuke stomped Zetsu into the ground, shattering the cave floor. Sasuke's visible eye burned with fury as black as the lightning in his hand.

"Shut up."

Manipulating his own Yin release to keep Zetsu from moving, Sasuke speared him through the throat. The resulting lightning tore up Zetsu from head to toe, warping his form to more resemble the formless black mass that he was. Zetsu quickly dissolved into a black, veil-like mist that wrapped around and behind Sasuke before solidifying, though clearly in far worse shape than before. The injured abomination stumbled back towards more solid ground, seemingly looking for some sense of stability. Sasuke wouldn't give him that reprieve. In a step, the Uchiha was upon him, hand reaching for Zetsu's head.

_Human Path._

Sasuke pulled at the top of Zetsu's crown, attempting to rip his soul out of the sacrifice's body. Slowly separating Zetsu's ethereal mass from the woman, the unsealed monster grinned through the pain, as if it won.

"Yin release."

Sasuke was too late. Illusion became reality as the seal under them shifted and glowed. Seals weren't his specialty, and one as archaic as this one was didn't register as anything remotely familiar to him, even under the Sharingan and Rinnegan.

He panicked.

Sasuke pushed against space and time with his left eye in an attempt to escape and send Zetsu to one of Kaguya's worlds, where he couldn't possibly get out alive.

"Amenominaka." A mistake.

Reality shattered, and Sasuke knew no more.


	2. Dissimilar

**Chapter 1: Dissimilar**

Sasuke awoke next to a bush.

His body ached a fair bit from…something (he didn't remember being injured), and he didn't recognize where he was. The only thing he knew for certain is that this place was _not _Kaminari no Kuni. He took in his surroundings, noticing the not-too-dense woodland and humid climate.

_Mizu, then? Maybe Nami?_

No matter. Finding out what happened to Zetsu was the priority. Sasuke reached out with his chakra. He was no sensor, but he knew Zetsu's signature enough to find him if he happened to still be nearby. Nothing. There weren't any signs of human chakra anywhere near him. A scan with the Sharingan confirmed that.

_Back to square one, then._

He began walking, looking for some kind of path. Eventually, after some almost aimless meandering, he found one. Deciding to walk along the road until he reached civilization, or at least human contact, he set off into the afternoon sun.

After a few hours of walking (he was too lost in thought to keep track), he reached a small town just before evening, the sky showing the barest hint of orange. Upon arriving, he realized that some event seemed to be going on in the center of town.

_Perhaps that will give me some sort of information._

He stepped into the crowd (that seemed to be made up mostly of kunoichi, oddly enough) and tried to see what everyone was watching. He peered into the center of the large circle to see that someone had seemingly challenged Ringo Ameyuri to a match for the Kiba blades.

Ringo Ameyuri was supposed to be _dead._

Sasuke's Rinnegan detected no genjutsu, and Ameyuri certainly wasn't an Edo Tensei either. He watched the fight with mild interest, taking the time to scope out the crowd he was in. Not only were the many of them kunoichi, but most of them were female. Sasuke noticed that there were very few males, and none of them were shinobi. He supposed that Ameyuri had built some kind of kunoichi haven. Were things really that bad in Mizu? He knew the bloodline wars were going on when she was alive, but did it get this bad for Kunoichi in general to the point that they needed their own village? He certainly didn't remember hearing about that.

When he looked back at the duel, Ameyuri had won already, and they seemed to be finalizing the terms of whatever they had agreed upon, the challenger bloody and begging, while Ringo just had a shark-like grin on. The crowd cheered for her.

"Alright everyone, that's what we call a victory! Drinks on me, bitches!" Ameyuri shouted above the crowd, and everyone slowly filtered into one of the large bars in the center of town, Sasuke going right along with them. Perhaps he could find out some information there, since he seemed to be missing some. Mostly on why Ringo was still alive.

Sasuke sat near the end of the bar, ordering a cup of Junmai-shu, hot. As he waited for his sake to be heated, a dark-haired kunoichi that was probably around his age (he was never the best at judging that) sat next to him, ordering a whiskey before eyeing him.

"We don't get a lot of guys out and about here. Ameyuri-sama tends to get a bit rowdy with the boys," she spoke to him after a second. He glanced at her with his normal eye.

"I just got here. I don't know anything about this place." She looked a bit surprised at this.

"Well, you're in Ameyuri-sama's territory here. Whose territory did you come from. Hozuki's?" She seemed to be rather comfortable around him, given that most people still remembered him as an international war criminal. Did she not recognize him?

_Ringo Ameyuri is alive. Assume nothing._

"Just passing through. I haven't visited Mizu enough to know whose territory belongs to who at any given time." She nodded at his answer.

"Well, you're welcome to stay a while. There isn't a ton here, and it can get rowdy at times, but it's ours. Any men who settle here we protect as our own, which is more than can be said for _some _territories," she replied, smiling at him. Did the shinobi in Mizu think themselves honorable due to their connection with the swordsmen? The only ones he had encountered were missing-nin, so he supposed it was possible.

"Perhaps someday," Sasuke accepted his sake from the bartender and took a sip. "How is Mizukage-sama doing?"

"Yagura-sama has probably been stressed, what with her swordsmen holding a lot of local power around the country, but honestly, it's been pretty peaceful, at least relatively. It's rarely even called the Bloody Mist anymore," She replied casually, still stealing glances at him.

_So Yagura's alive as well. Also_, she?

Sasuke had to find someone to dig some serious information out of without exposing himself, it seemed. As he shifted, the woman's eyes glanced down before widening slightly.

"Is that a sword? Are you a radicalist?" She spoke, staring down at the scabbard.

"Never heard of them," He spoke honestly after downing another cup. He was about to get up and leave, but it seemed their conversation attracted some attention. Ringo Ameyuri slipped her arm around him, sliding over from near the center of the bar.

"Ooh, we usually don't see a man around here too often. Here for the victory celebrations? I might not stick around _too _much longer, but I wouldn't mind bringing you back home to continue to _celebrate~…_" Ameyuri breathed into his ear. And that was his cue to leave.

"I was just leaving," he said tonelessly as he brushed off her arm and turned to exit the establishment, pushing open the worn wooden doors. He didn't look back to see her reaction.

* * *

After finding and purchasing a map, Sasuke departed the village and began to head to a somewhat nearby port town at the west end of the island. Surveying the mild fog that had begun to blanket the dark green trees as the sun fully set, he began to go over the information he remembered while drinking.

_Yagura-san and Ameyuri-san are alive, and the Mizukage is a woman. This place has also been described as peaceful, so I think of a reason for Terumi-san to attempt to overthrow the Yondaime. What else could have changed? Is Zabuza still a Kiri shinobi? Is Haku with him? There are too many variables right now. I need to find out what happened in that seal. Did Zetsu rewrite history with the seal and Yin release? I didn't detect any power on the level of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, but I'm not well-versed in seals either. Any other genjutsu wouldn't be powerful enough to trick me, either. Therefore, even if this began as an illusion, it is reality at the moment. Perhaps if I can find Zetsu, I can reverse this._

A rustle in the leaves. Not from contact, but there wasn't enough wind to rustle them that much. No other humans around. He was being hunted.

Sasuke spun, unsheathing hid blade backhanded and raising it in a high guard to block the attack. Two blades clashed with his. He sidestepped, tilting his sword so that the blades he blocked would slide off from their wielder's strength, causing them to overextend. A wide kick from the left leg completed the exchange, though his opponent stepped inward to deaden the blow.

"I didn't know you were missing an arm, handsome. What happened?"

Ringo Ameyuri wasn't done with him, it seemed.

Sasuke's silence seemed to annoy her. He attempted to use his left leg, still raised, to push her away, but she dropped one of her blades to secure a grip around it. Before she had a chance to fully swing her other blade around to pin him, Sasuke twisted, using his trapped limb as leverage to swing up and kick her head in a high roundhouse, knocking her away and causing Ameyuri to release her grip on him so that she didn't hit the ground.

"You don't fight too bad for a man. I underestimated you," she flashed a leer at Sasuke. "But I like a fighter. It'll make it all the more fun when I have you pinned under me!" Ameyuri kicked up her blade, caught it and rushed him. Ducking a double high swing, he didn't bother to take the opening and dodged the next two swings and blocking a low kick the same way she blocked his, hitting her in the side with the pommel of his blade and kneeing her in the diaphragm. She was rather resilient, however, as she held her breath to bring around a short right swing to keep him from getting any further blows in. He parried it as he stepped back, but she pressed the offense. After getting fed up that she wasn't landing any blows on him, she swung a twisting overhead at him, swords crackling with electricity.

Arrogant.

He allowed the electricity to flow through him, directing it through his body, down to his right foot. Swinging his foot in a side kick, he struck the center of her chest and released her own lightning right back into her. A snap of electricity, then an explosion of force. Ameyuri was launched back, left arm temporarily paralyzed.

Beyond that, even, she seemed shocked at his technique.

"Lightning is a double-edged sword. It can't be wielded so carelessly," Sasuke finally spoke. He turned, sheathing his blade, and walked into the night.

Sasuke had no clue what ripples his actions would create.

* * *

_The fourth Raikage's remaining hand slammed down upon the newly appointed sixth Hokage's desk._

_"Full pardon?! Former student or not, he is a criminal that attempted to assassinate the Five Kage twice! Not to mention all the samurai he slaughtered, directly in violation of the treaty we signed with Tetsu! I want him imprisoned with his chakra sealed at _minimum,_" A shouted at Hatake Kakashi, who folded his arms across the now cracked Hokage desk._

_"While certainly true, Uchiha Sasuke's actions have ultimately benefitted the Nations in the long term: he assassinated Shimura Danzo, a criminal who made deals with Orochimaru, he killed Orochimaru himself, and he's the only reason, along with Uzumaki Naruto, that you and I are standing here talking about it today, along with everyone else in this world. By the way, you can over the costs for replacing my desk, right?" Kakashi met the Raikage's stare evenly. At the last sentence, A looked down at his hand._

_"Huh-? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'm used to sturdier desks," A replied. "However, Uchiha Sasuke's actions of saving our lives to not justify his assassination attempt on both the Five Kage and my brother. And don't forget, the second assassination attempt on us was after he and Uzumaki sealed Kaguya. That doesn't exactly make me think he defeated Kaguya out of the good of his heart." The small spark of lightheartedness left Kakashi's eyes as he leaned forward over his desk._

_"Uchiha Sasuke's every action since the war ended has been strictly for Konoha's benefit. He has personally helped repair multiple villages, worked to eliminate the remaining contacts of the Akatsuki, and denied the replacement of his own arm because of the guilt he felt from trying to kill his friend! During the war, he was a dangerous criminal, yes, but ever since then, he has been _nothing _but an exemplary, loyal shinobi, and I will not have him chained when he has administered himself enough punishment already," the Hokage nearly hissed at the Raikage. "And until he proves otherwise, Uchiha Sasuke will be given full pardon and reinstated as a Tokubetsu Jounin of Konoha. I'll happily speak on this at the next Summit, and no earlier. Now, if you have no other topics to discuss, I thank you for stopping by," Kakashi finished less defensively. _

_The Raikage gave him a curt nod and a quick farewell before walking back out the door. Once it closed, Kakashi's posture relaxed, practically sighing into his chair, before turning and staring directly at him._

_"Something to say, Sasuke?"_

_He dispelled his invisibility jutsu, snorting at his old sensei's blasé disregard of his spying._

_"You're usually a lot more subtle in your conferences with foreign powers," Sasuke spoke to him. Kakashi nodded mildly._

_"The Raikage respects those who stand their ground and speak directly. He understands the necessity of subtlety but doesn't enjoy it." Sasuke often forgot that Kakashi was ANBU captain for nearly a decade. There were few who understood and internalized subtlety like Kakashi, and it apparently translated to diplomacy rather well._

_"Were you this involved with politics while I was gone? You seem to know what you're doing," Sasuke stated. Kakashi closed his eyes, shaking his head in response._

_"If it weren't for Shikaku-san's coaching, we'd be in a lot worse of a situation than we are. I've been learning, but he's the real master," His old sensei replied. Sasuke nodded._

_"While the room is secure, I should tell you that I've been tailed by multiple people not native to this village for a while now."_

_"Leave them be for now," Kakashi ordered. "The other villages are still wary of you. Being on good behavior will help your odds that they'll show you leniency at the trial next summit. But don't let them know you know that they're there, it could affect the outcome if they think you're just playing good boy for the audience." Sasuke nodded in understanding as he turned to leave out the window. As he prepared to jump out and onto the roof, Kakashi threw him a parting "Have fun on your next date!"_

_"Fuck off!" He threw right back as he jumped up the wall of the Hokage tower, on his way to begin his next vigil._

* * *

Sasuke woke up to the sound of crashing waves.

He sat up, looking around. He had paid for transport to Nami no Kuni aboard a cargo ship carrying whatever it was that Mizu primarily exported, most likely (he hadn't bothered to pay attention to the captain last night). He climbed up out of the ship's lower deck onto the upper, taking in the scent of churning seawater as the ocean spray splashed against his face. He could see the lush green forests in the distance. They were probably twenty minutes out until they hit land and he could figure out what's going on with the world.

Sasuke's destination was Keishi, the capital of Hi no Kuni. Home to one of the largest libraries in the nations, Sasuke could find books on mythology, history and news on current events to see exactly what had changed in…whatever this was.

The ship eventually slowed to a stop by the port and the captain began shouting orders to her crew to unload their cargo as efficiently as possible. He nodded to her in thanks as he walked by before slipping off the ship and heading into town.

_Keishi is a good seven hours if I walk, though I should be able to make it before sundown if I head out soon. I'll grab something to eat first, I haven't eaten in a couple days now._

While walking through the somewhat familiar streets of Nami, Sasuke noticed that the mood of the people seemed to be much more somber and wary than when he last visited. The citizens (again, mostly women, oddly enough) kept their heads down, avoiding eye contact with him or anyone else they passed, a far cry from the jubilant island nation he remembered. Even the weather reflected the people's disposition: the fog of the early morning seemingly had never lifted above the rooftops of the city while the sun barely shone through the mist. Sasuke eventually found a serviceable enough yakitori restaurant, ate a decent meal in silence, paid with what money he had on him (he'd have to get more somehow, what he had on him wasn't going to last, and he couldn't guarantee that the Uchiha clan coffers would be available for him to use), left as he came and headed for the bridge he helped build years ago.

* * *

It wasn't there.

The Great Naruto Bridge wasn't there.

Sasuke knew he told himself to assume nothing, but apparently such a thing was easier said than done. His memories had never betrayed him before, why would they now?

_Because nothing is simple when Zetsu's around, imbecile. You should know this by now._

With nothing else to be done, he shrugged off his thoughts and headed down to the churning dock, walking by one of the men standing by the boats roped to the worn wood-and-stone dock.

"How much for a ferry to Hi no Kuni?" Sasuke hailed one of the sailors. The woman looked at him with a rough but not scathing eye.

"Fifteen hundred," the answered. Sasuke's eyebrow raised in response. Three fifty was standard pay for the ferry from Mizu to here, so a five times markup was highway robbery at its finest.

"You're out of your mind charging those kinds of prices. One fifty," he shot back. The roughened woman snorted at his counter-offer."

"I'm not the one who sets the prices, so I don't haggle, not even with pretty men. You'll have to take it up with the boss."

"And who would that be?" the Uchiha asked. The sailor nodded up at the tower on the outskirts of the small city.

"Gatou. She owns the ferries here. You wanna haggle prices, she's your gal. She might offer a discount for someone like you, but I'd be careful around her. She ain't the nicest around." Well, wasn't that interesting? Perhaps his funding issues weren't that big after all.

"I'd love to meet her," Sasuke showed the smallest of smiles.

The walk back through the village to Gatou's office tower was spent planning how to get in and out without tipping off his mercenaries to Gatou's death after he killed…her.

That was still weird.

Given the odd reactions to him that the various women had, seduction was a likely tactic to work, so long as the trend continued. The main problem with that was that Sasuke wasn't very good at seducing people. A loner by nature, Sasuke's social skills were close to nil. However, given how attracted to him the women here seemed to be, perhaps just a burning smolder, a few words and his looks could carry him through long enough to ensnare her in a genjutsu to bend her(?) to his will.

Besides, mass murder wasn't the _worst_ backup plan.

Sealing his sword into an invisible storage seal on his arm, Sasuke walked in the door of the office building and sauntered up to the receptionist.

"Hello sir, do you have an appointment?" The receptionist asked, a plastic smile stretched across his face. Sasuke gave a small, equally forced smile in return before flashing his Sharingan at the man, placing him under a quick genjutsu.

"Yes, by Gatou-sama's _personal _request," Sasuke tried to purr. He was pretty sure he failed. God, this was embarrassing. How did kunoichi pull this off?

"Of course. Seventeenth floor, I'll send you up through the elevator. Normally we don't let people use the new technology, but I wouldn't want you wearing yourself out on seventeen flights of stairs before you even reach Gatou-sama," the receptionist gave a more genuine (if illusion-compelled) smile at Sasuke before handing him a key. Sasuke took it, spoke a quiet thanks for appearances and continued down the hall, unlocking the iron cage of the elevator. As he traveled upwards, Sasuke grew curious about the elevator's inner workings, and upon scanning it with his Sharingan, found that the entire thing operated upon a complex set of seals that adjusted the weight of the elevator's counterweight for set periods of time (or so he assumed, since he could only recognize about half the seals there).

_Interesting. What seal masters are both alive today and willing to do work this complex for someone like Gatou?_

It was something to think on later. He had work to do.

Just after he regenerated his left arm with his Rinnegan, the elevator opened, and he walked down the hallway lined with large, top-class offices and two battle-hardened women in suits at the end of the hall. Sasuke loosened his cloak and undid the top couple buttons on his shirt, showing off a bit of pale skin as he sauntered down the hallway in what was his best approximation of a high-class whore.

If it turned out his assumptions were wrong, neither of these two would live to remember it.

"Excuse me, ladies. Gatou-sama requested me personally, and I'd hate to be late…" Sasuke insinuated, doing his best to hold back his embarrassment. The woman on the left nodded, seemingly buying the act.

"Of course. We'll have to check for weapons first though. Standard procedure and all," the guard responded as the two of them moved to pat him down.

"Small knife strapped to my right thigh. I'd like it back when I leave, please." It was quickly confiscated, and he was cleared for entry.

Sasuke gave the room a quick once-over as soon as he stepped inside. No guards inside, no others visible except for Gatou at her desk, who looked nearly identical to how Sasuke remembered Gatou looking: Short, pudgy and dirty blond with beady eyes covered with equally beady shades. The only real differences were the lack of a moustache and the rounder face. His memories on Gatou's appearance weren't exactly the clearest—

_Memories._

The thought struck him like lightning. No matter how good an illusion was, it couldn't replicate the viewed memories of a human soul torn out via the Rinnegan. And if this place was real, then it would give him information on exactly what was wrong with this world, allowing him to really start making long-term goals and plans.

Or so he hoped.

Sasuke pinned the businesswoman with a Sharingan illusion before she could get a word out, casually walking over to her and leaning over the desk, grabbing her by the forehead and ripping out her soul with the Human Path, observing her entire life at the speed of thought.

Sasuke understood.

"Shit," he swore. This place was reality. And it was very different from his own.

Women were around sixty percent of the continental population.

Traditional gender roles were swapped almost entirely, and heavily exaggerated.

All because men couldn't use chakra. Sasuke was stuck in an entirely different reality.

All his interactions here now made sense. He'd had theories and ideas but couldn't quite piece them together. Now that the truth was staring him in the face, though, Sasuke wasn't quite sure what to do. He needed to adjust his plans. Now that he knew he was a serious anomaly in this reality, he needed to lay lower than he thought he would to complete his goals.

And Zetsu still knew he was coming.

Sasuke's train of thought was interrupted when Gatou's corpse slid down into her chair, drawing a muffled "eep" from under her desk. Sasuke walked around it to investigate the noise, and found a pale, malnourished man cowering next to Gatou's bottomless corpse, her pants and shoes crumpled next to the prostitute.

"Shit."


	3. Shattered Expectations

There was no time for Sasuke to dwell on the implications of his newfound knowledge. Different gender norms or no, Sasuke needed to figure out a way out without alerting the building that he had just killed their boss.

The easiest way would simply be to assassinate the two guards beyond the door, walk out the front door as if he did nothing wrong and break for it before somebody found the body. Even if he was suspected, he would be long gone before anyone could begin to search for him, and Sasuke had no intention of returning here anytime soon. He would be scot free of the entire operation.

And all for the price of the death of a prostitute.

He had done worse. He had betrayed nearly everyone he'd ever worked with, impaling more than one of them just to fulfill his own goals. Besides, he didn't know this whore. Sasuke didn't owe him anything. What did he care if someone he didn't know died?

But Naruto would.

The nagging voice of his best friend in the back of his head conflicted with his own desires. _If he was worth saving_, it asked, _then why wasn't an innocent man?_

_Naruto, you make my job far more difficult than it needs to be._

Plan two was simple enough as well, so long as his lying was convincing, and the prostitute didn't contradict him. Tell the guards outside that Gatou had a heart attack while engaging in a threesome and died due to her morbid obesity (there wasn't much to check that would confirm a soul-ripping, and there would be no evidence of any other cause of death besides organ failure), and he and the prostitute walk out the door peacefully, with neither of them convicted of murder.

But word would spread fast. Gatou's death would be made known. And her assets would be shut down. Sasuke couldn't have that either; he needed that money. And the account information he got would be useless if the bank knew Gatou was dead. That meant he was going to have to do this the hard way.

"Hey, you. I can get us out of this, but you'll have to flee this country to do so. If you stay, they'll likely blame and kill you, since their records will show that you were the one granted unsupervised access to this office last," Sasuke spoke. "You'll have to do everything I say without question or hesitation. I leave you here otherwise." The prostitute's eyes widened.

"I-I'll go, please, don't leave me here," the man pleaded with him. Sasuke nodded before pulling out a piece of paper and pen from Gatou's desk, using Gatou's memories and his Sharingan to forge her handwriting, signature and adding her wax stamp to a drafted document giving him complete authority over any financial decisions made on Gatou's behalf. So long as he got to the bank, sold Gatou's stocks in everything and transferred the funds to multiple accounts in different banks before they learned of her death, then Sasuke would be set for life.

He'd have to work fast.

"This is the top floor of the building. Open that sliding door there. Outside is an employee ladder that reaches the roof from this floor. Head up there, make sure as few people as possible see you and wait on the roof for me. I'll be there in a few minutes," Sasuke instructed. The other man nodded and set to scaling the building, closing the glass door behind him. Sasuke forged another note to hang on Gatou's door once he had finished his business here.

Sasuke opened the door and grabbed the two bodyguards by the hair before they could react, pulling them in and cracking their heads together before they could react before throwing their bodies behind him into the office.

He turned to tie up the two women before they could wake up and call for help, but as he moved to unseal his rope, he realized that the bodyguards' skulls were clearly crushed, with brain matter and blood strewn across the floor of the dead businesswoman's otherwise spotless office.

_Shit. Too much force._

Sasuke decided to seal the bodies of the women he had just murdered into his invisible seals coating his arm and chest before using a water jutsu to attempt to wash away the carnage he had accidentally created, hoping that people wouldn't notice when they walked in. He knew that his hope was poorly founded, however, given how little time he had, and he knew it wouldn't make much of a difference, seeing as he wanted Nami to know that Gatou was dead.

As soon as he emptied her vaults, anyway.

Taking the "Do Not Disturb" sign he just wrote out with Gatou's forged handwriting and signature, Sasuke hung it on the office door and walked down the hall and took the elevator to the ground floor as if he didn't just slaughter three people. He made sure to quickly hypnotize the receptionist again while halfheartedly muttering that Gatou didn't want any visitors for the rest of the day. After he made sure that Gatou's body probably wouldn't be found for the rest of the day, Sasuke strolled out of the building, ducked round the side, recast his invisibility technique, retracted his false arm and leapt up the building until he reached the roof.

The prostitute was sitting cautiously, almost huddling on the rooftop, eyes darting back and forth in search of danger. Sasuke uncloaked a fair was behind him, slowly walking into his line of sight to as not to disturb the poor boy.

Of course, he was startled anyway.

The boy made to shriek, but Sasuke was on him in an instant, covering the boy's mouth with his hand.

"Scream here and we both get caught. Do it and I abandon you here," Sasuke whispered into the prostitute's ear, who nodded vigorously in response. "We're getting out of here. I'm emptying Gatou's coffers first, then we'll head to Hi no Kuni and go as far inland as possible. Nod if you understand." Fearful or not, the prostitute clearly knew what was at stake if his nod was any indication. Sasuke then hoisted the boy over his shoulder, recloaked and jumped down the building the same way he came up while the prostitute screamed into his shoulder. The prostitute was set back down upon Sasuke' landing, looking as out of breath as if _he_ was the one to jump off the building himself.

Speaking of, Sasuke didn't even know his name, and needed something to call him other than just "prostitute."

"Your name?" The prostitute blinked once and paused for a second before answering.

"Harue. My family's name is unimportant if I'm wanted by Gatou's thugs. What about yours, sir?" He asked. Sasuke shook his head in response.

"Not until we get out of Nami." It would give Sasuke time to think up a convincing lie. Sasuke may have run the spy network, but he operated more on the "go invisible and eavesdrop" rather than the "converse and pry information" spectrum of espionage.

Walking though the darkened forests of the city's outskirts, the pair eventually came to the western sect just across the street from the National Bank of Nami.

"Stay here," Sasuke motioned. Harue stayed as Sasuke walked into the bank, pulling out the forged documentation from his back pocket and greeting the receptionist. Glancing around for witnesses before flashing his Sharingan at her, Sasuke put her under a quick genjutsu to believe the documents without question.

"Alright sir, everything seems to be in order, you have been given power of attorney over Gatou-sama's personal and business accounts, are you here to make a deposit or withdrawal?" the receptionist asked him.

"A transfer. Gatou is withdrawing all liquid assets from both her business and personal accounts, into cash. As soon as possible, please. Preferably in a sealing scroll," Sasuke responded tonelessly.

"Right away, sir." The receptionist left the counter to head to the back of the bank, returning a few minutes later with a sealing scroll in her hand.

"Here you go, sir. Will that be all for today?" He nodded in response and left before anyone else could ask questions. He was sure that once word of Gatou's death got around, every institution would be on high alert, and he was not doing nearly as clean a job as he would like.

Sasuke walked back to where Harue was hiding, telling him to get up. Harue complied, and they walked to the western end, back to the docks where the previous ferrywoman yet stood.

"Your boss wouldn't come down on prices. Three thousand for the both of us," Sasuke spoke begrudgingly, gesturing at Harue. The captain nodded in response.

"Cash up front. I don't deal with thieves." Sasuke nodded, unsealing the ryo under his cloak where the woman couldn't see before handing her the money. Quickly leafing through to count it all, she eventually nodded.

"Hop in, boys, Hi no Kuni awaits!"

* * *

Just under an hour later, Sasuke and Harue arrived at the port of Hi no Kuni. They rode the ship in silence, Sasuke uncaring to start a conversation and Harue likely unwilling to. They strode off the ship side by side, ignoring any looks they may have gotten from ogling women or gossiping men, and exited the port town promptly. Only once they were out of earshot of any noticeable bystanders did Harue speak.

"Ah, sir, where exactly are we going?" Sasuke glanced at the prostitute with his visible eye.

"We're first stopping at Keishi. The Library of Hi is there. Afterwards we head to Otafuki, near Konohagakure. You'll be safest there." Sasuke could also begin searching for Zetsu there. He'd have to see if anyone knew of the Akatsuki there, though, and knowledge of the Akatsuki wasn't likely all that common if Gatou didn't know about them. It was also unlikely that Sasuke would be able to do any business with Gatou's list of contacts he'd gained since it wasn't long until word of Gatou's death and missing assets traveled around the nations, and any appointments he would attempt to make would immediately pin him as the culprit. He was an unknown in this reality; best to keep it that way for now.

The fact that men were treated as second class citizens could prove advantageous to him. As with the Gatou situation, no one here would expect a man to be packing the force of a tailed beast, so he would constantly be underestimated. So long as he didn't have to deal with any chakra sensors, he'd be in the clear. No one would suspect him until he was already shoving his hand through their chest.

Perhaps contacting Orochimaru would be a good place to start. Gatou's memories provided quite a few sources of possible information, so long as he could gain audience with the right people.

"Ah, I still don't know your name, sir," Sasuke's train of thought was interrupted by Harue. Shit, he didn't ever actually think up a name. What would be convincing without giving away his real identity?

"…Indra," Sasuke hesitated before responding. Harue cocked his head at Sasuke slightly.

"Can't say I've heard that name before, Indra-sama. Sounds very…traditional."

"My father was a traditional man," Sasuke replied curtly. He probably took a risk with that name. He was just relieved that it hadn't backfired. Harue nodded before leaning in.

"So how come…" he whispered, glancing around suspiciously. "How come you can use chakra?" Sasuke grimaced internally. He _really _didn't have an answer to that one.

"I'll give you three hundred thousand ryo to never speak of that again," he spoke flatly. Harue's eyes widened.

"Deal." Nodding in acquiescence, Sasuke reached into his back pocket to unseal the money and show it to Harue, before putting it back.

"When we get to Otafuki. You're an easy target for thieves, and we have a long journey." The prostitute looked put out but nodded in understanding.

Sasuke took the opportunity of continued silence to sort through Gatou's memories more thoroughly. Information won wars, and Sasuke was sorely lacking it. He decided to abandon the idea of retrieving some of Gatou's other assets now that word was likely out about the criminal's death, though the blackmail on some of the more important figures in both the political world and underworld would no doubt be useful at some point. Writing up an objective list in his head, Sasuke mulled over how best to find Black Zetsu.

* * *

The leaves slowly brightened as the skies slowly darkened, and the two men reached Keishi just before the sun fully set. The large city, painted various shades of red, cream and grey, filtered golden light through nearly every visible window. The smell of street food wafted through the air accompanied by the chatter of both the passersby and the patrons of the various buildings. The only difference Sasuke could see between Keishi and Konoha was that his home village had shinobi everywhere, sitting at some of the bars, jumping between rooves and surveilling the city under invisibility jutsu and such.

It wasn't home. Nowhere was, really. But it was close.

"The Library's likely to close soon if it hasn't already. They might let shinobi in late at night, but they won't allow civilians. We'll get food and an inn, I'll check the library tomorrow," Sasuke spoke tersely to his temporary companion. Harue nodded absentmindedly, seemingly entranced by the sights and smells of the large city. Guiding the man to a nearby restaurant that seemed quiet enough for Sasuke's taste, he absentmindedly ordered a plate of whatever, and paid about as much attention to his companion's order.

"This city is beautiful, Indra-sama! I've never seen anything like it! How big do you think it is?" Harue attempted at conversation. Sasuke shrugged, mulling the question over.

"About as big as Konoha, maybe a bit bigger. Less shinobi, but more civilians." Harue nodded before plowing into his next question.

"So, is this our final stop? Or do you plan on traveling a bit?" Sasuke eyed him from his survey around the traditional wood-and-tatami-restaurant before responding.

"If you want to live here, you're free to do so. I have other things to do. I won't stay longer than a day or two. The money I gave you should be enough for you to get on your feet."

"Where do you plan to go when you leave?" Harue asked once again.

"A couple places. I need to check on some things." Harue smiled.

"Well, I hope you find what you're looking for, Indra-sama."

Sasuke looked away, mildly uncomfortable. The silence pervaded.

"Oh! Food's here!" Harue exclaimed, prompting Sasuke to turn his eye to the waiter bringing their meals, setting a bowl of unagi over rice in front of Sasuke and a plate of kaarage across from him.

Tucking into his food, Sasuke observed both the man across form him and the surrounding restaurant. He could pin a couple people as shinobi, both near a far corner, eating together. He recognized neither of them, nor did they seem to be on duty. All other patrons were locals or tourists. No one was on alert.

"How familiar are you with the legends of the Sage of Six Paths?" Sasuke asked in a low tone, still wary of any possible listeners. Harue gave him a confused look before shrugging.

"My dad told me a couple as a kid, but I never don't remember much. Why, do you know something important about them?" Harue asked in kind. Sasuke shook his head.

"No, I was simply curious how commonplace the legends were. I haven't heard it many times myself."

"I see. Are we going to an inn right after this, or can we explore the city first?" Harue asked excitedly. "I've never actually been to Hi no Kuni before, my parents and I lived in Mizu before moving to Nami. They didn't like how the Swords ran things, but Nami ended up not being great either once Gatou took over the place," he finished dejectedly.

"I'd rather not stay out and about longer than we need to. Cities tend to have higher crime rates than smaller towns, especially after dark. You can explore the city tomorrow while I'm at the library, but I leave mid-afternoon at the latest. Be at the north road by then."

They left the restaurant in relative peace, sticking to the main roads and listening to the chatter of the evening summer crowds while ignoring the occasional drunken civilian trying to grab their attention to join them at one of the nearby bars, eventually finding what looked to be a reputable inn for the night, purchasing a room and settling in for the longest sleep Sasuke had in weeks.

* * *

_"The Trial of The Five Kage v. Uchiha Sasuke begins," Mifune spoke blandly. "Representative of the Five Kage, please state your case against the defendant." The Raikage stood from his position at the semicircular table, staring down at Sasuke — not that Sasuke could see, willingly bound and blindfolded as he was._

_"The Five Kage accuse Uchiha Sasuke of Attempted Murder, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Mayhem upon a Village leader, Mass Murder, Assassination and High Treason," A finished severely. Mifune nodded._

_"So recognized. Uchiha Sasuke, how do you plead?" Sasuke, kneeling, lifted his head to where he believed Mifune's voice was originating._

_"Not guilty." He would bet money that the Kage were trying not to snort at that._

_"Would you plead your own case, or have another represent you?" Mifune asked of him._

_"I will speak for myself."_

_"So be it. Uchiha Sasuke, you are called to the stand," Mifune told him. Sasuke stood, still blindfolded and bound._

_"I was tracking and attempting to kill Shimura Danzo, a man that had betrayed Konoha in multiple ways. Shimura was hosting a secret sect of ANBU that answered only to him, even after the Sandaime Hokage formally disbanded this sect of ANBU and forbid him from reorganizing that. Beyond that, illegal deals with Orochimaru of the Sannin, theft of multiple sacred Konoha bloodlines and the mistreatment and subsequent order of assassination upon the Uchiha clan, after forcing them to commit a coup, all to gain the Sharingan of Uchiha Shisui, which could cast a powerful hypnosis, that he planned to use against the other four Kage once he stole the title in Konoha. It was my duty as both a Kohona shinobi and an Uchiha clan member to bring him to justice. All other violence committed was self-defense, as I simply wished to stop Shimura, and they struck out at me first. When Shimura escaped, I attempted to catch him, though the guards were in my way. I avoided those I could, and only struck at those who were able to make a lethal strike at me. Casualties could have been far greater if I simply wanted to destroy the Kage Summit, but it was not my goal."_

_Sasuke stared blindly at where he believed Mifune sat, listening to his fingers drumming on the hardwood desk._

_"Will the defense bring their case to the stand?" The Iron Lord asked the Kage. A shift, somewhere on the far left of the desk. Heavy. Either Gaara or A then._

_"While Uchiha's actions line up with his story, his true intentions are unverifiable but within his own mind. Even if he speaks truth, however, His actions against the Hachibi Jinchuuriki leave his story questionable at best," a deep, bellowing voice spoke. The Raikage, unsurprisingly. "The Hachibi Jinchuuriki was not someone who had done previous harm to the Uchiha clan, and thus was not a case of personal revenge or justice. This was simply an alliance with the man who planned to destroy the Elemental nations wholesale. Why, then, did you ally with him, Uchiha?" Sasuke supposed he had to twist the truth a little to get out of this one._

_"You're right, Raikage-sama. Your brother did no harm to my clan. Tobi, however, did. My goal was to get into his good graces, convince him I was loyal to his cause, before cutting him down from behind. I would not have been able to kill him without knowing how his intangibility worked, so I joined the Akatsuki. I was sent with my team to capture the Hachibi on his orders, so I had to make the attempt look convincing. After I had convinced him I was on his side, he gave me my brother's eyes. Thus, I was able to turn on him without dying in the process." Hopefully, the story was plausibly convincing. The Kage deliberated quietly, Sasuke unable to make out exactly what they were saying. Some kind of muffling or sound distortion seal, then._

_They eventually reached some sort of conclusion._

_"Uchiha Sasuke," Mifune spoke. "We have reached an accord. You will serve no prison time and will not be executed. However, to each major nation you have harmed, you will owe something. To The land of Iron, you will give one third of the Uchiha clan assets in whatever form you see fit." Sasuke nodded. This was agreeable and was no major loss to him. He could recuperate the funds in time. "And to the other major Elemental Nations, you will spend a six-month parole serving each nation, for the attack on their Kage, performing whatever missions they see fit. You will also sire an heir for each major shinobi nation, with a woman of their choosing." Sasuke bolted upright._

_"Absolutely not!" He said venomously. "The Uchiha bloodline is a curse, none of us can be freed of our hatred! And you would have this cycle furthered just so you can each scrounge up a bit more power for yourselves? What happens when one of my descendants decides to take up Madara's cause? What happens when they succumb to the curse that my family fell to? That _I _fell to? You strive for peace, but all you desire are greater tools of war and chaos! It is clear that nothing has changed. None of you wish for peace, and you are willing to pit brother against brother in your future conflicts just to scrounge for resources. Is this what you wish, Raikage-sama? Would you be willing to have your brother sold to another nation so you could end him yourself, all for a pithy scrap of land? Is this the future you desire? Could you say the same, Kazekage-sama? I would _love _to hear your answers." Silence reigned. Ah, Sasuke had broken the chakra suppression seals inadvertently. He forced himself to take a deep breath and kneel back down._

_"I do not wish for such conflict to renew as it was, and I do not want the sins of my clan to become my children's. I also have trouble with the thought of siring with a woman and then simply abandoning her." Silence, once again._

_"Uchiha Sasuke," Gaara, this time. "We understand your opinion on the situation, as well as your bloodline. However, you were able to overcome your madness, were you not? You were inspired to be greater than yourself, were you not? You were saved by Uzumaki Naruto in the end, were you not? I have experienced the same. I understand what you have endured and sacrificed. We believe that your children will be proof of peace between the nations, forging strong diplomatic ties as blood, the descendants of one of the men who fought a god to save us all. Your children will be our nations' vow to never force family to raise arms against each other. This is the burden of the Uchiha clan, the one you will raise and teach._

_"Do your brother proud, Sasuke."_


End file.
